TVLine's Performer Of The Week: Sarah Paulson

THE PERFORMER | Sarah Paulson

THE SHOW | Netflix's "Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story"

THE EPISODE | "Bed and Breakfast" (September 17, 2026)

THE PERFORMANCE | We know that the latest season of Netflix's "Monster" centered on accused ax murderer Lizzie Borden... but we found ourselves riveted instead by a character from a century later. Sarah Paulson took on the daunting task of playing 1980s serial killer Aileen Wuornos — a role that already won Charlize Theron an Oscar for 2003's "Monster" — and completely made it her own, deftly embodying Aileen's unique quirks and finding the wounded humanity inside the infamous killer.

Before we get into the performance, Paulson absolutely disappeared into this role, with scraggly hair, wild eyes, and gnarled teeth that made her nearly unrecognizable, just like she disappeared into Marcia Clark, Linda Tripp, and other memorable roles in Ryan Murphy productions. (If we're going to laud male actors like Christian Bale for transforming themselves for roles, we have to give Paulson her flowers, too.) Wuornos was just a side character this season on "Monster," with her crimes and mistreatment paralleling Lizzie's, but even in her brief appearances, she stole the show.

The highlight was Episode 6, when Aileen and her girlfriend Shelby made a pilgrimage to Lizzie Borden's house, with Paulson's eyes lighting up as Aileen fangirled out over her hero — and then turned on a dime and angrily snapped at the house's owner for not letting her smoke inside. While walking around the house late at night, Aileen had a vision of Lizzie and opened up to her, Paulson's face crumbling as she revealed the horrible abuse she endured from her own family: "None of them didn't deserve a f**king bullet in their mouth." (But she still managed to reply with a sharp cackle when Lizzie was puzzled by her use of the term "johns.") Paulson later broke down in tears as Aileen recalled the many ways the justice system had failed her, but she was inspired by Lizzie's similar plight, tenderly telling her: "I see you, Lizzie Borden. And I thank you."

At the end of the episode, Aileen stepped inside Lizzie's birdhouse, and both women danced with wild abandon, a hundred years apart, with Paulson's liberated dance moves forging a poignant connection between her and Lizzie across time. Aileen's story didn't have a happy ending, of course, but in just a few scattered scenes, Paulson built a compelling portrait of a complicated woman that will end up lingering with us even longer than Lizzie's story. — Dave Nemetz

Scroll down to see who got an Honorable Mention shout-out this week...

This week's "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season finale gave us two Uhuras for the price of one, with our Uhura facing a "temporal incident" that connected her with her future self, one year later. Celia Rose Gooding rose to the occasion, too, conveying the current Uhura's confusion and annoyance — "I hate time travel," she told us — while also giving us a peek at an older, wiser, more confident Uhura in the future. (Side note: She looked pretty great with that retro Nichelle Nichols hairdo, right?) Both Uhuras had to work together to put the timeline right, and Gooding found a surprising resilience inside Uhura as she took command of the crisis and ultimately saved Scotty's life. It was sweet seeing Future Uhura give her past self a pep talk ("You're doing great. Never stop growing"), but we're not worried at all about Uhura. She's definitely headed in the right direction, with Gooding there to guide her. — D.N.

Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!